Archidamia
Archidamia ( ) (c. 340-241 BC) was a wealthy Spartan queen, wife of Eudamidas I, mother of Archidamus IV and Agesistrata, grandmother of Eudamidas II, great-grandmother and grandmotherEudamidas II was wedded to Agesistrata, his aunt. of Agis IV. The earliest accounts of her depict her leading Spartan women against Pyrrhus during his siege of Lacedaemon in the 3rd century BC.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Pyrrhus § 27.2 In the face of Pyrrhus's invasion, the Spartan Gerousia considered sending the Spartan women to Crete for their safety. Archidamia, speaking on behalf of the Spartan women, entered the Gerousia, "with sword in hand," and contested this proposal, questioning whether the Spartan women were expected to survive the ruin of their own city. With the matter settled, the Spartans initiated the construction of a defensive trench running parallel to Pyrrhus's camp.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Pyrrhus § 27.3 It is likely that Archidamia helped direct the Spartan women in this respect, since it is reported that the Spartan women impressively "completed with their own hands a third of the trench."Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Pyrrhus § 27.4 Consequently, it is likely that Archidamia led the efforts of Spartan women during the subsequent battle against Pyrrhus, as they are noted for supplying the defenders with weapons and refreshment during combat, and extracting wounded from the battlefield.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Pyrrhus § 29.3 Later records of Archidamia date three decades later, with her assisting in the revolutionary designs of her grandson Agis IV, as he attempted to restore Lycurgan institutions to a Sparta then thoroughly corrupted by wealth and greed.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Agis § 7.1-7.3 Because Archidamia and Agesistrata were the wealthiest two people in all of Lacedaemon,Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Agis § 4.1 Archidamia's support of Agis was instrumental in gaining support for the cause.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Agis § 7.3 She was among those who first pledged to contribute their wealth to a common pool, which was then to be distributed equally amongst both old and new Spartan citizens.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Agis § 8.1-8.2; 9.3 However, these revolutionary designs were foiled by the corruption of Agis's uncle and erstwhile supporter, Agesilaus,Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Agis § 13.4; 16.1-16.2 and the machinations of a rival party, led by the Agiad King, Leonidas II.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Agis §18.2-18.4 Leonidas and the Ephors had Agis illegally imprisoned and executed, unbeknownst to a mob that had gathered out of concern and a possible desire to see him freed.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Agis § 19.3; 20.1 Archidamia and Agesistrata were subsequently lured into the prison on the premise that they were to see Agis; and there they too both met their ends at the hands of their political rivals.Plutarch, Parallel Lives: Life of Agis § 20.2-20.5 Considering that she must have born her son Archidamus IV before 320 BC, at the time of her execution in 241 BC she was probably far in her nineties. References Category:Spartan princesses Category:Spartan women in ancient warfare Category:3rd-century BC Spartans Category:3rd-century BC women Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Year of death unknown Category:Ancient Spartan queens consort Category:Eurypontid dynasty